Protests started in Anbar province in December 2012 when arrest warrants were issued for some of then Finance Minister Rafi Issawi’s guards. They quickly spread to other Sunni areas of the country, as many other people were feeling unhappy with their representatives and how the government was acting, and decided to take their frustration out into the streets. A mix of tribes, political parties, clerics, and insurgents quickly came to support the demonstrations, which created divisions as each was in it for their own ends. That has come to the fore as the Mutahidun Party is offering to talk with Baghdad over ending the protests now that the 2013 provincial elections are over.

continued (http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2013/10/political-support-for-sunni-protests.html)